British Science Week runs from 10–19 March 2017 and celebrates STEM subjects with events and activities organised in schools, in communities and by a whole host of cultural organisations, businesses and other venues.
Counting penguins with British Science Week
Relocate Editorial
10 March 2017
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects are becoming increasingly popular in UK schools, with lots of initiatives to spark the imagination of the future workforce.Once such initiative is British Science Week (BSW), an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths that features a range of entertaining and engaging national, regional and local events across the UK.BSW provides a platform to stimulate and support teachers, STEM professionals, science communicators and the general public to produce and participate in STEM events and activities across the UK.In 2016, BSW featured over 5,000 events, reaching over 1 million participants. The national campaign attracts a large volume of media coverage and social media exposure.The theme for this year’s BSW is 'Change', encouraging young people to think about and investigate the changes happening in the world all around us: from seasons and climate, to materials and energy. It is also a chance for young people to consider the changes they can enact to have a positive impact on the future.In her speech at business organisation the CBI’s annual conference in November 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May outlined her plans for Britain to be “the global go-to place for scientists, innovators and tech investors”. In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond confirmed a spend of £2 billion per year on science and technology.
Relocate's tenth anniversary awards
Science and technology is the theme behind Relocate’s Awards 2017, our tenth anniversary year to be held at the Science Museum in London on Thursday 11 May.Says Fiona Murchie, Relocate’s managing editor, “As we’ve been highlighting across the Relocate media through our coverage of the CBI Annual Conference and other high-profile events, innovation – whether in science, the space industry and technology or in other fields – is the key to global prosperity and growth, particularly in challenging economic times and with Brexit now a reality.“With growing skills shortages in key areas like science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), employers are increasingly competing for the best and most creative talent. Our event will attract high-calibre international attendees across industry and the education sector.”
Events
On Thursday 16 March, Demo Day is an annual campaign that aims to inspire school teachers and technicians to explore new concepts, provoke discussions and generate excitement through running science demonstrations.Put your trainers on and Run the Solar System, a virtual 10k race that can be run anywhere in the work at any time of the week. For non-virtual runners, a 10k race will be held in the Olympic Park on Saturday 11 March at 8 am.BSW has also teamed up with Puffin to celebrate the publication of a new companion book for Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine called George’s Marvellous Experiments. The book features a series of hands-on activities for children, teachers and families inspired by the serendipitous scientist, George Kranky. There are other ‘George’ activities planned in bookstores across the UK, plus presenter Greg Foot will be demonstrating some of the experiments on YouTube.For a full list of events, search the BSW’s events page.
Penguin Watch
BSW 2017 is joining forces with the Zooniverse project, a partnership between the University of Oxford, Australian Antartic Division, Darwin Initiative, Quark Expeditions and more.Penguin Watch is a visual project that enlists the public to help annotate thousands of images of penguins taken over the past three years. The quantitative data from the photographs will help scientists understand the different penguin species and assist in their conservation.BSW is supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 3M, Yakult UK, Gatsby Charitable Foundation, the Horners’ Company, Project Mc2, Royal Mail and Puffin.
